If there are any indicators of why we need a blue Ohio this year, then this should be it:
In a rare move, a member of the Ohio House yesterday took the stand to rebut accusations that lawmakers illegally plotted behind closed doors to eliminate a proposed one-time window for the filing of lawsuits by victims of decades-old child sex abuse.
Three advocates for the bill claim the Republican majority of the House Judiciary Committee violated Ohio’s open-meetings law by privately discussing the bill in a room across the hall shortly before voting to dramatically change provisions unanimously approved by the Senate.
They’ve asked Franklin County Common Pleas Court to wipe out the March 28 committee vote that killed the “look-back” window, substituted an unprecedented civil registry proposed by Roman Catholic bishops, and scaled back a proposed widening of the statute of limitations for the filing of cases in the future.
Closed door meetings in government always lead to more corruption and an assault on democracy. Here in Ohio, we need a fair and open government more than ever.
We are also seeing citizens wake up to the corrupt voting system in Ohio and now making their voices a little louder:
The embattled director of Cuyahoga County’s elections board, Michael Vu, faced another round of criticism Friday as about 50 politicians, labor leaders and voter activists demonstrated in front of the board’s offices demanding his resignation.
Chanting “Who must go? – Vu must go!”, the group vowed to rally there every week until he resigns or is fired.
Two Democrats and two Republicans oversee the board and remain deadlocked on whether to dump Vu and deputy director Gwen Dillingham.
An independent panel recently reviewed the board’s operations and issued a scathing report last week that largely blames Vu and Dillingham for a week-long delay in counting ballots after the May primary.
Being a former precinct judge, I can tell you that the voting places here in Ohio are like good ole boys (and girls) clubs. Rules are overlooked all the time and favors are made. This entire state needs an overhaul of the voting laws.
In Cincinnati, an ad was pulled of the air, which falsely gave credit to a candidate:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pulled back television ads Friday that erroneously gave credit to an Ohio congressman for voting for the newly implemented Medicare prescription drug program.
The chamber’s $10 million national ad campaign on behalf of lawmakers who backed the new prescription plans for seniors included spots for Rep. Steve Chabot, a Cincinnati-area Republican who is in a close re-election race with Democrat John Cranley.
Chabot actually voted against the Medicare plan when it passed in 2003. The ads, which began airing Thursday, said Medicare drug coverage has helped Ohio seniors and gave Chabot credit for its existence
Voting for the Medicare plan was a good thing? Tell that too the millions of seniors who spent the first half of this year going through hell and without necessary drugs because of the governments screw up.